After Borussia Dortmund crashed out of the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday, I was really curious how the coach, the squad, and the fans would react. The Pokal was the most likely route to a trophy for Die Schwarzgelben
this season, so I was slightly nervous that the defeat could spark a downward spiral in the league as well. Thankfully, Dortmund responded to their midweek defeat with a strong performance and a deserved 2-0 win against a very strong opponent in TSG Hoffenheim.
After a very tight first half, BVB finally broke the ice just before half-time when some great midfield play from Felix Nmecha and Marcel Sabitzer drew Hoffenheim’s defense to the right side of the pitch, before a quick switch of play to Aaron Anselmino allowed him to play a quick through ball to the streaking Yan Couto, who played a perfect cut-back pass to Julian Brandt, who simply had to roll the ball into the open net.
Hoffenheim would begin to apply more pressure in the second half. Despite occasionally breaking BVB’s pace, none could get past Dortmund’s strong back line. Hoffenheim’s challenge then got harder when, barely 15 minutes into the second half, Dortmund scored again. Fresh off a cleared corner kick attempt, Yan Couto whipped a cross across goal that sailed over the melee and found Felix Nmecha, who played a short pass back to the feet of Nico Schlotterbeck, who somehow, as he was falling, curled the ball perfectly around Oliver Baumann.
Hoffenheim would generate the odd chance from that point on, but nothing major. The game ended without much fanfare, and BVB walked away with all three points. Here are the highlights:
A Damn Fine Defensive Effort
The three center-backs that lined up in black and yellow were Nico Schlotterbeck, Waldemar Anton, and Aaron Anselmino. I thought all three were fantastic. Obviously, Nico Schlotterbeck’s goal was pure class, but even putting that aside, they did a great job defending. They did a great job covering ground against Hoffenheim long-balls. All three won a majority of their ground duels. Combined they managed 8 tackles and 11 clearances. While their performances were strong, other BVB players pitched in as well.
The diminutive Yan Couto held his own. Daniel Svensson overcame an early turnover to have a strong game. Felix Nmecha had a few strong defensive plays, including when he sprinted like a bat out of hell to close the gap on Bazoumana Touré as he charged in on goal, clearing the ball out for a corner. Overall, BVB did a good job limiting Hoffenheim’s chances, which mostly came on set-pieces, not from open play (about 0.74 expected goals out of 1.42, per Understat). It was also only after BVB scored and took some pressure off that Hoffenheim really managed to generate anything meaningful.
Other Thoughts
- In the 21st minute, there was a slightly controversial moment when Serhou Guirassy went down in the box after swinging his leg at a shot. Fans around the Westfalenstadion howled for a penalty to be awarded, since it appeared at first that Hoffenheim center-back Vladimir Coufal had kicked Guirassy in the leg, but referee Florian Badstübner let play go on. After viewing the replay, I think it was the right call, as Guirassy’s leg swung into Coufal, rather than the other way around. Fortunately, in the end BVB won without it.
- I have mixed feelings about the Felix Nmecha-Marcel Sabitzer midfield pairing, but I thought they were great today, especially on the ball. Their distribution was superb. Nmecha laid out a great pass to Anselmino to open the sequence that led to Brandt’s goal. Sabitzer had a great interplay with Guirassy and a through-ball to Couto that led to the PK incident I referenced above.
- I don’t have much else to say about this game. It wasn’t incredibly eventful all things considered, especially in the first half until Brandt scored.
